feature roi sp09
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The College of Engineering at
Carnegie Mellon University is
recognized worldwide as a leading
research institution. Housedwithin the College are more than
22 major research centers. These
centers or pillars of excellence
give researchers the freedom to
push the boundaries of technology,
while providing unique educational
opportunities for students. To keep
our researchers attuned to the
real problems facing engineers in
the field, the College collaborates
extensively with industry, resulting i
mutually rewarding relationships.
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he College of Engineering receives
research funding from a variety of
sources. Government entities, such as
the National Science Foundation and the
Department of Defense, for example, provide
numerous grants. However, many of the
Colleges centers receive substantial fundingfrom corporate sponsors through membership
programs of varying flavors. These programs
enable companies to influence research
projects and derive benefits that have positive
effects on their bottom line. As expected, CIT
gains tremendously from these programs,
too. We receive financial support that helps
maintain our thriving research enterprise;
however, just like our corporate sponsors,
we benefit in ways that transcend dollars and
cents.
T h e B e g i n n i n g o f B e n e f i c i a lR e l a t i o n s h i p sThe College has a long history of partnering
with companies for research purposes. For
example, in the 1980s, the Center for Iron
and Steelmaking Research (CISR) was
established with industry money that was
matched by the National Science Foundation
(NSF). Back in those days, you had to go
out and get industry members and funding.
An NSF grant was continent on you getting
B Y S H E R R Y S T O K E S
F E A T U R E
Returns on the Investment
industrial support, says Richard Fruehan,
the U.S. Steel Professor of Materials Science
and Engineering and the founding director
of the CISR. If you got 10 or 11 companies
to come on board, the NSF would give you
your money, says Fruehan. The culture
encouraged interaction between academiaand industry.
Today, like during the dawn of the
CISR, Fruehan persuades companies to join
the center by explaining how they can get a
greater return on their R&D money. Steel
companies say, We cant justify or afford
to do the long-term research we need to do.
I say, Lets do it on a collaborative basis.
The research wont be of unique benefit to
one companyall of our members will get
access to 8 or 10 projects instead of just one,
states Fruehan. His approach works. The
CISR started off with 11 industry partners,and that number grew to more than 23, with
a third of those companies outside of the U.S.
(Our research was garnering international
interest decades before globalization
became a buzzword.) Since the center was
founded, the steel industry has endured a
number of recessions. Yet, in spite of mergers
and companies folding, the center has more
than 20 members and is the largest academic
center for steelmaking research in the world.
Most steel companies that produce in the
U.S. belong to the center and there are
international partners, too, says Fruehan,
adding, If we were not the very best, we
would not have survived.
Similar to the CISR, other leading
CIT research centers, including the DataStorage Systems Center and the Center for
Advanced Process Decision-making, were
founded in the 1980s with combinations of
industry and government support. However,
during this same period, a new model for
interaction between academia and industry
took root at Carnegie Mellon: the Center for
Silicon System Implementation was founded
solely with industry funding. This type of
collaboration was unheard of before, that is
industry and universities coming together to
do fundamental research, says Shawn
Blanton, a professor in ECE and the director ofthe Center for Silicon System Implementation
(CSSI). The impetus for this industry support
was that Japan was surpassing the U.S. in the
semiconductor industry. The Semiconductor
Industry Association (SIA) got together and
said, we need fundamental research, and the
Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC)
was formed. Carnegie Mellon was the first
school to get a Center of Excellence for chip
design.
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P e o p l e F i r s t Though the years, funding has ebbed and
flowed, yet CITs large, mature research centers
are still running strong as a direct result of the
relationships that have developed between
the faculty, staff and students who work in
the centers and their industry counterparts.
Pointing to a shelf of books hanging above his
desk, Fruehan says, Every one of these blackbooks is a Ph.D. thesis. Ive been at Carnegie
Mellon for 28 years and 30 of my Ph.D. students
are in the steel industry, and they are strong
supporters of the center. Support from alumni
working in the field has proven instrumental in
maintaining a connection between companies
and the College.
Blanton concurs with Fruehans assess-
ment of alumni importance. This past fall, the
CSSI celebrated its 25th anniversary by hosting
an expanded Technical Workshop. (Invitations
to participate in workshops and annual
research review meetings are valuable benefits
that companies receive when they sponsor
CIT centers.) More than 125 people attended
the two-day CSSI event that highlighted the
centers technical homeruns and visions for
the future. Several leading industry figures
delivered presentations, including John Cohn,
Chief Scientist of Design Automation at IBM.
During his talk, Cohn (Ph.D. ECE, 1991)
explained that a number of the key tech-
nologies utilized in an IBM server came from
the seminal work conducted in the CSSI.
Other guest speakers included John Shen, the
founding head of Nokia Research Center, Palo
Alto and Ralph Cavin, III, chief scientist at the
Semiconductor Research Corporation.Working with prominent engineers from
the private sector raises the level of Carnegie
Mellons research. Ignacio Grossmann, the
director of the Center for Advanced Process
Decision-making (CAPD) explains that the
majority of industry people who are active in
the CAPD engage in leading-edge R&D. The
researchers who are involved in our center
are high-caliber. They are the leaders in their
fields, such as Jeffrey Siirola, who is a member
of the National Academy of Engineering, says
Grossmann. By joining the CAPD, eminent
researchers from over 20 major corporations
gain opportunities to network. They have
access to newly published papers or papers
that have been submitted for publication,
giving them a head start on accessing useful
information, says Grossmann.
When asked what he and his fellow
CAPD researchers gain from their involvement
with corporate sponsors, other than financial
support, Grossmann answers with one word:
Problems and for him that is a positive. We
get exposure to new trends and new problems
that motivate our research work, he explains.
This exposure keeps the CAPDs research
focused on salient matters. For example,ExxonMobil is funding a project that aims to
produce the best strategies for planning and
designing offshore oil and gas drilling platform
systems in situations where precise information
is lacking. The fundamental knowledge that is
derived from this project will benefit not just
ExxonMobil, but the industry as a whole.
Our work is highly valuable to the process
industries, says Grossmann, who adds that
when industry personnel participate in annual
Shawn Blanton, CSSI Director
and professor of ECE (above)
II str rtict i tsfrfro 211 comco pan sies atttended th e rrss nnual
t inbr r InIn i t e o orao te Partne srshipip Meetini g.g.
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meetings, companies are able to influence the
centers research.
While benefits for partnering abound,
Grossmann emphatically believes that access
to our students is the chief benefit companies
derive by sponsoring the center. Referring to
the drilling project, Grossmann says One of
our students spent three summers in Houston
working on the offshore project. Many CAPDstudents spend summer internships with
companies. He says, We produce students
with unique skills. It is difficult in the U.S. to
find students that have education and training
like ours. Places like Berkeley, Caltech,
Stanford dont have programs like the CAPD.
Fruehan and Blanton agree with Grossmann
on the great value companies place on CIT
students. Companies hire our Ph.D. students
because they can hit the ground running,
says Blanton. By working with industry
personnel and enlisting for internships,
students pick up on the culture and issues that
different companies are dealing with explains
Blanton. Our students are smart, he says,
and when they spend the summer working
with corporate partners, they get real-world,
practical knowledge. Continuing he explains
that it is through the students that knowledge
migrates from companies to the centers and
vice versa. In a seamless manner, technology
is transferred, says Blanton.
T h e n T h e r e s t h e R e s e a c hOur students are heavily recruited and thats
because in part, they are working and studying in
research centers that have earned international
acclaim. Research that has literally transformedindustries is conducted at Carnegie Mellon,
and a good case in point is the information
storage technology that has been developed
in the Data Storage Systems Center (DSSC).
We are the best academic center in the world
for hard drive technology, says Jimmy Zhu,
the ABB Professor and director of the DSSC.
All of the major hard drive companies sponsor
us because we can help them resolve current
technological hurdles and identify and develop
the next wave in storage technology, says
Zhu. These are not overreaching remarks. A
look at the DSSC Web site (http://www.dssc.ece.cmu.edu) reveals a list of their patents and
affiliates.
The center formed in the late 1980s, led
by University Professor Mark Kryder, and
by 1989, the National Science Foundation
(NSF) designated the DSSC an Engineering
T h e C S S I c e l e b r a t e d i t s 2 5 t h
ann i ve r sa ry by ho s t i n g an
expanded Techn i ca l W o rkshop .
Mo re t han 125 peop l e a t t e nded
t h e t w o - d a y C S S I e v e n t t h a t h i g h l i g h ted t he cen te r s
t e c h n i c a l h o m e r u n s a n d
v i s i o n s f o r t h e f u t u r e .
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Research Center (ERC). The goals prescribed
for ERCs are loftythey must act as agents
of change for engineering education and the
engineering community as a whole. This
is accomplished by integrating academic
research, education, diversity, outreach, and
industrial collaboration, which is no small task.
During the 1990s, the hard drive industry was
riding the technology wave, says Zhu, Weprovided industry with trained Ph.D.s who
quickly became leaders in the field. After 11
years, the NSF requires ERCs to graduate
says Zhu, and once again, the center became
dependent on industry funding. During its rein
as an ERC, the center proved its value to both
the scientific community and the corporate
world, which made private funding attainable,
but not easily had. The industry had changed.
The technology matured, and companies were
consolidating, says Zhu.
To secure funding in a tighter fiscal
environment, the center had to sell the notion
that its tack on fundamental research was
crucial to pushing the industry forward. (The
word fundamental is important because as
a nonprofit institution our research must have
scientific merit and propel engineering and
students forward.) The DSSCs comprehensive
approach attracted sponsors. We understand
the hurdles in storage technologies and we
can walk the road that is financially too risky
for industry, says Zhu. The center, unlike a
company, can engage in theoretical research
without worrying about stockholders and
quick financial returns. Another selling point is
that the DSSC (like all CIT centers) is adept at
leveraging interdisciplinary teams. Developinghard drive technology calls for expertise in a
wide range of areas, including physical science,
materials, electrical and computer engineering,
etc., and people with all these backgrounds are
at Carnegie Mellon. Thanks to a long list of
achievements, alumni sited in key positions in
key companies, and top faculty and students,
the DSSC engages in productive collaborations
with its industry affiliates.
Companies will invest in us because
of the quality of our research, our vision and
drive for innovation, says Zhu, adding that
a $250,000/year investment in the DSSC
could result in many millions of dollars in
net gains for a company. Highlighting some
of the key benefits sponsors receive, such as
access to faculty, student recruitment, and
networking opportunities, he notes the value
companies place on advance viewings of
Ano the r way i n wh i ch bo th
i n d u s t r y a n d C I T b e n e f i t
f r o m p a r t n e r s h i p s p e r t a i n st o o u r s t u d e n t s : r e s e a r c h
p rov i de s t h em w i th i n va l uab l e
e d u c a t i o n a l o p p o r t u n i t i es .
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DSSC publications, In this industry, all you
need is a six-month lead and you can have the
next big thing.
I n W i t h t h e N e wBecause of their success and longevity, the DSSC
and the other major centers serve as models
for newer Carnegie Mellon research groups.
CyLab, which was founded in 2003 primarilywith Army funding, is following in step and
building a substantial industry membership
program. Driven to secure computer and
communications systems, CyLab is attracting
both large companies and start-ups, including
a number in the Pittsburgh area. We are one
of the largest university-based cybersecurity
research and education centers in the U.S. Our
partners get access to world-class research and
experts, says Gene Hambrick, the director of
CyLabs Corporate Relations. He explains that
start-ups become partners because they get to
network with people from a number of national
and international companies.
We like to say that there are four
reasons to partner with CyLab: reputation,
recruiting, research and return on investment,
begins Hambrick, as he outlines the merits of
membership. Designated an NSF CyberTrust
Center, the center commands respect.
(The National Security Agency named the
Information Networking Institute (INI), which
partners with CyLab to extend educational
and training programs, a Center of Academic
Excellence in Information Assurance
Education.) Our partners find that aligning
with us enhances their reputation, he says.
Another deal-making benefit states Hambrick,echoing his peers throughout CITs research
centers, is that companies can recruit CyLab
students. Partners get preferential access to
our brightest and best. And what makes these
students the best relates to Hambricks third
motive for partnership: research.
We are here for the research, states
Hambrick. We have over 50 faculty members
and 130 graduate students associated with the
center, and these people go across a broad
spectrum of disciplinestechnology, policy,
education. We are a one-stop shop. We can help
companies solve their technical problems or
train their employees. We are a resource for our
partners. We are positioned to capture trends.
The ability to identify and leverage trends
is evident in CyLabs thrust in mobility, which
represents a significant growth area. We have
been doing work in mobility for years, but it
became evident to Dean Pradeep Khosla that
we need to create a center in CyLab to focus
our mobility research, say Hambrick. The
genius surrounding the Mobility Research
Center is that it is based both in Pittsburgh
and at Carnegie Mellon Silicon Valley, which
broadens opportunities for partners, faculty
and students to interact.
Smart, agile moves like the MobilityResearch Center, the enlistment of top faculty,
and bright students draw companies into
CyLabs fold. When other benefits are factored
inthe capability for companies to band
together to stretch their R&D monies and early
access to research findingscompanies gain
a lot of knowledge for a price that would be
difficult if not impossible to achieve in house.
And this case scenario holds true not just for
CyLab, but for all of CITs major research
centers. The work underway in our centers has
a direct affect on engineering education, the
field of engineering and often, a companys
bottom line.
F o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e c e n t e r si n t h i s a r t i c l e :
Center for Advanced Process Decision-making
http://capd.cheme.cmu.edu
Center for Iron and Steelmaking Research
http://neon.mems.cmu.edu/cisr
Center for Silicon System Implementation
http://www.ece.cmu.edu/~cssi
CyLab
http://www.cylab.cmu.edu
Data Storage Systems Center
http://www.dssc.ece.cmu.edu
Jin Nakano, a post doc in the CISR
demonstrates to journalists the
experimental and computational work
associated with steel research.